Art of mixing concrete and transporting the same



Sptv l5, 1925.

K. R. scHusTr-:R

ART 0F HIKING GONCRETE AND TRNSPORTING 'I-'HE SAME Filed April 4, 1916 l-IWENTOH .712171 R. Schuster ATTORNEYS l IIIIIIIIIII Patented Se'pt. 15,1925.

UNITED STATES mr. n. scizus'rma,v or

ABT 0F HIKING CONCRETE AND TBANSPORTING THE SAME.

Application led April 4,

T o all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, Kann R. ScHUsrER, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings,and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Art ofMixing Concrete and Transporting the Same, of which the following is aspecication.

This invention pertains to the art of mixing concrete and transportingthe same to the place where said material is to be utilized in theinstallation of concrete structures of one form or another. Y

The objects of the invention are to expe? dite the mixture of thematerials, to attain a superior admixture within a few minutes time,and'to feed or transport the material from the mixing contrivance, allof which results in substantial economy of the operations.

To these ends, the rst part of my invention involves the use of r otheras under ress ontrolled in such a Wa as to effect both the admixtureofvthe maerials and the eedln or frans ortation of the resultl cpncreteccordingly, the. operations include the depositing of the material(sand, a mineral aggregate and cement with suiicient water) within aclosed chamber; admitting air steam or other gas to the lower part ofsuc chamber, whereby the air or gas blown into the chamber exertspressure upon the materials so as to blow the same upwardly within thechamber and therebv agitata said materials to secure the desiredadmixture thereof; then accumulating the air or gas within said chamberuntil the air or gas pressure upon the mixed materials is equalsubstantially to the pressure of the current blown into the bottom partof said chamber; then shutting oft' the pressure of the intlowing air orgas while retaining the pressure within the chamber; then opening theoutlet from the bottom of the chamber so as to supplement the gravity orweight of the mass by the pressure of air or gas within the chamber,thereby displacing the mass of materials from said chamber and expellingor feeding said mass through a conduit leading to the point at whichtheconcrete is to be utilized, and, if required, admitting additional airor gas under pressure into the drawing,

BROOKLYN. NEW YORK.

191e. serial no. 88,770. conduit and in the rear of the mass movingthrough said conduit.

The apparatus invented by me for carrying out the process hereinbeforestated embodies a drum-like chamber provided at its upper portion with acharging opening, and at its lower portion with an outlet; means forclosing said charging opening tightly; a pressure pipe attached to thelower part of said chamber for feeding air or gas thereinto and under apressure suicient to effect the admixtpure of the materials and thedisplacement of the resulting mixed mass of concrete; and a valve forclosing the outlet at the time the air or gas is blown into the chamber.From the bottom of the chamber a conduit extends to the point at whichthe concrete is to be utilized, and if necessary a second pressure pipeis connected with said conduit for blowing air or gas into the same tosupplement the pressure of the gas or air admitted initially and therebyeiect the movement of the mass of concrete should it be found necessaryto transportxthe latter fora long distance.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear scriptiontaken in connection with the wherein the figure shown is a ver ticalsection through an apparatus for mix ing and transporting concrete inaccordance with this invention.

A designates a tank or hopper, the lower part a. of which is of invertedconical form,-

whereas the upper part a .is dome-shaped. The tank is provided with amouth member B of iaring form having a charging opening b, the latterbeing normally closed by a gate-valve C. The mouth and the valve aremutually constructed to secure a ti ht joint around the charging openingin or er to preclude the escape of air or gas and to effect theaccumulation of the air or gas blown into the chamber ofthe tank. Anysuitable means may be employed for the operation of the gate-valve andto retain the latter in a tightly closed relation to the charging mouth,but, as shown herein, said gate-valve is hung on a rockshaft c, to oneend of which is attached an externally positioned lever c having aweight c2. The lever provides convenient means for open-- ing the valve'1n order to introduce the materials into the tank,

from the following de,

but when the lever is released, the weight c2 presses the valve tightlyagainst the mouthpiece B.

Attached to the lower part of the taperin member a is'a fitting D, thesame pro- 6 vi 'ng an outlet d leading from the lower part of the tankor receptacle to an elbow e of a conduit E, the latter extending rom thetank or receptacle to the place where the mass of concrete is to be usedin the con- 10 struction of buildin etc. The tting D is rovided at onesi e thereof with a nipple f ormingha peassage f leading upwa ly intothe c am r of the tank or receptacle A.l The pressure pipe F is coupledin a suitable way to the mpple f, said pipe being adapted to feed air orgas under pressure through the p led" in a manner to at all times directthe 1 owing pressure of air or as u wardly into the material present 20wit in t e tank, said inowing air or gas being directly u wardly intocontact with the material an above the mixture outlet d. The area of theair inlet is considerably less than the area ofthe outlet d for themixture; in practice. the mixture outlet is suiiciently large to providefor the free egress of the concrete material, includin the coarsemineral aggregate which is incorporated with the sand and cement. Themixture outlet thus a'ords an unobstructed opening for the mixedmaterial, and the gas .or air 1s supplied under pressure and at therequired 'velocity upwardly into the chamber, and above the mixtureoutlet. for agitating the materials to properly eect the mixturethereof. The pressure pipe F should, obviously, be connected with apressure reservoir into which air or gas. is forced by any suitablecompresser so as to 40 maintain a pressure of80 lbs., more or less, asmay be found necessary in the operation of the apparatus. The fitting Dis provided, also, with a baile G, positioned opposits the outlet ofpressure pi e F. The 5 a file extends upwardly into t e space orVchamber of ittin D, one surface'g of the bale being curve as shown forthe purpose r=.`f,of directing the inilcwin air or gas in an upward pathinto the tan The baille G is formed with a recess adapted to produce ashoulder g, and witl'iin this recess 1s fitted a heel la. of a valve H,the latterg ing normally positioned across the outle irom the bottom ofthe hopper. Said heel of the valve is attached to a rockshaft I, the endportions of which are supported in suitable bearings rovided in thefitting D, and,

as will be rea ily understood, this rockshaft is provided with suitablemeans whereby the 0 shaft may be rocked either by hand or power *'80 asto imlgrt a swinging movement to the valve H. the operation of mixingthe material and of accumulating 'air or gas pressure within the tank,valve H occupies $5 the raised position shown in full lines in thedrawin so as to cut off the outflow of the mass o material and to retainthe air or gas within the tank, but after the mixture of the materialsshall have been eiected within the tank, the rockshat I is turned so asto move the valve H into the position shownin dotted lines in thedrawing. The outlet from the hopper is thus opened for the material topass through the fitting D and elbow e into the conduit E, the valve Hbeing positioned below the shoulder g2 of the baiile and saidvalve lyinclose against a wall of the fitting D so t at said valve issubstantially out of the path or line of direction of flow of thematerial as it is forced out of the tank and into the conduit.

It is apparent that the fitting D should be attached firmly to themember a of the tank and to a flange of the elbow e, the latter'` beingin turn secured rigidly to the conduit L` but as the details ofconstruction are well within the scope of the skilled constructor, Ihave not considered it important to more particularly illustrate ordescribe the special form of connection between the several parts of theapparatus.

The conduit E is of a length to extend from the mixing tank to the placeat which the concrete material is to be utilized in construction work,and in some instances this conduit may be so long that. the pressure ofair or gas accumulated within the tank A is not sufficient to effectthe' transportation of said concrete material for the full length ofsaid conduit. Under' such circumstances, it is preferred to employ anadditional pressure pipe J which is coupled to a nipple y' of the elbowe, wherebv said pipe J is a apted to supply additional air or gas to theconduit 'E and rearwardly of the mass of material moving therein.

The operation is as follows The pressure pipes F, J are closed by theoperation of suitable stop cocks (not shown) and lever c is operated too en valve C, the

valve H occupying the close position shown in full lines. The materials,usually sand, cement, a mineral aggregate, and water in the requiredvolumes, are poured through the opening b of the charging mouth so as toaccumulate within the tank A a batch of the materials to be mixed. Thevalve C is now closed and pressed tightly against the charging openingof the mouth B. and air or gas under a pressure of about 80 lbs. to thesquare inch 1s admitted to the lower part of the tank through the pipeF. The

' aille G directs the inlowing air or gas upwardly and into and throughthe material comprising the batch, whereby said air or gas wheninitially admitted blows the material upwardly within the chamber of thetank for the purpose of effecting the admixture of said materials. Theair or gas accumulates within the u'pper part of the tank of thematerial be relatively slow,

inflow of all or gas, at

A and above the mass of materials therein. mixing, operates to displacethe ingredients The air or gas continues to flow into the of themixture; but after a short time the tank until the pressure in the upperchammixture attains a state ot quiescence, due to her thereof becomesequal to the pressure of the continued inflow of the air or gas and tothe inflowing air or gas, and at this time the the accumulation thereofwithin the upper mass of material is in a. quiescent or nonpart oftheclosed chamber. agitated condition. By accumulating the after the mixingis completed, continues to air or gas within the tank until it hasatflow into the chamber until the pressure theretained a pressure in theupper part of the in above the mixture is equal to the pressure tankequal to the pressure of the inflowing at the feed pipe or substantiallyso, this oonair or gas, instead of permitting the air or dition beingindicated to the user of the apgas to escape out of the tank as insystems paratus by the cessation of flow from the which have preceded myinvention, I am enfccd pipe into the. chamber or tank` or such abled toutilize the air or gas pressure in indication may obviouslyhe attainedby any the expulsion of the mixed mass of matemeans known to thoseskilled in the art, rials from the tank and to transport said such, forexample, as are afl'orded by a presniixed materials through the conduitto the sure, gage or gages.

point where the concrete mixture is to be Having thus fully describedthe invenutilized. as a result of which economy of o tion, what I claimas new and desire to se eration is obtained. The materials haviiiwire byLetters Patent is:

been mixed within the tank. and air or gas 1. In the-art of mixing andtransporting havin;r accumulated to about 8() lbs. within concrete, theprocess which consists in accusaid tank and above the mass of materials,mulating the materials to be mixed within a the operator should turnrock shaft I in orclosed chamber; blowing air or gas upder to move thevalve H to the depending wardly into contact with said materials forposition close to a wall of the fitting D, as agitating and mixing thesame and simulshown in dotted lines, thus opening the outtaneously withsaid inflow of air or gas let from the tank to the conduit. Therestraining the materials to preclude their weight or gravity of themass of material exit from the chamber and restraining, also, and thepressure of the air or gas upon the the exitl from said chamber of theintlowing mass effects a quick expulsion of the mateair or gas;continuing the inflow of air or rial 'from tlm tank, Said material,bolug gas upwardly through the material until it forced through theconduit E by the preS- attains a desired pressure upon the .nixed sureofthe air or gas. Should the movement mass; releasing the mixed massfrom reor should sti-aint and expellin the same from the materialrequire transportation for a said chamber solely lby the pressure ofcomparatively long distance, then additional air or gas accumulatedtherein,`and by a. air is supplieddirectly into the conduit E bycontinuance of said inflow of gas and moving thcpressure pipe J. themixed mass to a place of'use by air or I attach importance to the use ofthe tank gas'pressure applied to said mass. closed against the exit ofair or gas and the 2, In the art, of mixing and transporting outlet ofthe materials during the operation concrete, the process which consistsin accuof blowing air or gas under pressure lnto mulating the materialsto be mixed within the tank, for the reason that I am thereby ena closedchamber; blowing air or gas under abled to eiiect. substantial economyin the pressure upwardly within said chamber into rmxmg operation and 1nthe Subsequent contact with said materials for agitating transportingoperation. By closing the and mixing the same and simultaneously tankagainst: the egress of air or gas wh11e therewith restraining the exitfrom said mixing the lingredients, 1t 1s apparent that chamber of theagitated materials and of the cement, introduced in a dry condition, isthe inowing air or gas; continuing to feed not blown out of said tankwhen the air or air or gag under pressure upwardly into gas blast 1sturned 011, thus effecting a mat-B- the mass and-the chamber until suchair or rial savmgl 1n the cement; and, further, the gas attains .adesired pressure within said air or gas 1s retained under pressure sothat chamber; releasing the mixed mass from after the blast is irstturned on the materestraint and ex elling said mass from the rials aremixed, and then become quiescent ychamber solely by the pressure of airor under Ithe accumulated pressure, whereupon gas accumulated therein;and subjecting the valve H is opened and the mixed mass is mixed mass tothe pressure of the air or expelled by the accumulated pressure, thusgas released from the chamber augmented effecting a substantial savingin the blast reby he pressure of additional air or gas quired to effectthe mixing and in the pressupplied rearwardly of the moving mixed sureutilized for transporting the mass. mass. I

In the operation ot the apparatus' so as to 3. In an apparatus of theclass described, carry out the process of this invention, the thecombination of a chamber provided with the initial stage of a. chargingopening and at its bottom por- The air or gas,

tion with an outlet, means for closing the charging opening against the'escape of air or gas, means connected with said chamber for blowing airor gas therein, a valve 0p' erable to close the outlet durintghtheopera- 'tion of blowingair or gas into e chamber a bale sitionedintermediate the valve and the out et from said blowing means, fordirecting the inlowing air or s upwardly within the chamber, and aconiit connected to the bottom part of the chamber for the flow of theconcrete mass therethrough upon opening the valve. i

4. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination of a closedchamber pro vided with a chargi opening, an off-bearing conduit connecteto the bottom portion of said chamber and affording an outlet for tllilemass therein, mansi) for closing said c argmg open w ere y air or gas 1sp'ecluded romuagscaping out of the chamr, a valve sitioned for cuttingolf communication tween the chamber and the off-bearing conduit, ,meansconnected with said chamber for feeding air or gas upwardly into saidchamber .when said valve is closed, said valve being operable to open apath from the chamber to the conduit and thereby utilize the pressure ofthe accumu- 80 lated air or gas in displacing the mixture,

and means for feeding additional air or gas into said conduit andrearwardly. of the material moving throu h it. I

5. An apparatus or mixing concrete and the like em odying a vesselprovided at its upper part with a charging opening4 said vessel havingat the lower part an out et for the mixture, means for insurin at alltimes the inflow of air in an upward 'rection into the mixture at a ointabove the mixture outlet, the area o said mixture outlet excecding thearea of the air inlet and aording an unobstructed ath for the freeegress of the mixed materia and a valve for closing the mixture outletat the .mixing stage of the operation.

6. An apparatus for mixing concrete and the like, comprising a vesselprovided with an upper feed opening, a compressed air nozzle at thelower part thereof having a fluid discharge opening of smaller area thanthe 'said upper opening, a movably-mounted valve at the lower part ofthe vessel, and an upwardly directe baille interposed in the pth of theair from said nozzle, said baille ing independent of the said valve.

In testimony whereof 'I have hereunto signed my name.

xian `u. scHUsTER.

